Luvachicken Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Not that I've asked my OH, but I thought that when my 2 girls stop laying, I would like some little chicks but I would hate to come home with boys that I couldn't keep - so how do you tell the sex of a chick ? My mum said you can't tell when they are young but I remember on that Jamie Oliver prog that all the little boy chicks went in a gas chamber . So you must be able to tell. Can you put chicks with big girls ? What's the youngest you can have a chick? Any other tips for my "one day in the future..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 How long is a bit of string? Commercial hybrids are sexable at hatch as they are sex linked (bred from one genetically silver parent and one genetically gold parent) the female chicks are amber and the males yellow but these are rarely available to buy as eggs to hatch or as youngsters Some breeders breed their own sex linked chicks and the eggs are available but the parents could have been any breed so its less predictable! Autosexing breeds are sexable at hatch as the females are differently marked so can be (usually) examples of these are Cream Legbars, Rhodebars, Gold Legbars and Wybars Other breeds are sexable anywhere between a few days old and 20+ weeks old! it depends on the particular breed some are far easier to sex than others - once you have made up what breed/s you want do some research in to how long it takes to sex them and buy them at that age or older! Pekins, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Red, Marans and Faverolles are examples of easy breeds to sex Silkies, Polands, Araucanas and Hamburghs are examples of birds that are hard to sex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Can you put chicks with big girls ? What's the youngest you can have a chick? Any other tips for my "one day in the future..." I wouldn't at all recommend putting chicks in with big girls.... unless they've hatched out some chicks themselves and you "hide" and extra chick under a hen overnight along with her own, then I haven't heard of anyone managing to put chicks in with big hens happily. Just the other week there was a post about a young (9 weeks??) chicken going in with big girls and being dispatched in gruesome ways by them. the youngest you can have a chick - you can buy them at day old, but they will need to be under a heat lamp for the first weeks, normally 35 degrees for one week then drop the temperature by 5 degrees each week - so about 4 weeks of heat. they also need different food from big hens until they are laying themselves. they'd have to live seperate until they are adults too. as hard as it is doing adult hen-to-hen introductions, it really is easier to buy a couple of POL girls if you want to increase your flock, as even if you rear your own chicks, you'll have to integrate them when they're fully grown and you're back to square one! And buying POL means you eradicate the need to worry about whether your birds are boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 I didn't realise so much was involved .Perhaps I will get POL birds when it comes to it. It was just the thought of a lovely, fluffy little chick......... Thanks for all the information though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue-DiamondChick07 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 My week old Dottes are completely flat and smooth on the beak bridge, no comb whatsoever, whereas the same age pekins have the makings of tiny combs, is this a sign of sexing? Or is that just the breed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Its a sign of the breed - Dottes have rose combs and you dont see a lot of comb developement for a couple of months really, the area just gets redder The interesting thing about Wyandottes is that it is easier to sex some colours than others, I can now sex my barred dottes at about 3 weeks but the silver laced take longer - about 6 weeks ish, Silver pencilled are harder still! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 I didn't realise so much was involved .Perhaps I will get POL birds when it comes to it. It was just the thought of a lovely, fluffy little chick......... Thanks for all the information though Check out the hatching sticky at the top of the section for some good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitbag Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Hilda hatched some chicks when i was on holiday, and it has nearly been a week now! I ave no idea what breeds they are, or what sex - would it be ok to post some pics of them, and you guys can tell me your thoughts? I would love to know, but I obviously understand if you guys are unable to tell me! Thanks Megan xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 start up a post on the main chicken or hatching board and i'm sure everyone would love to have a guess!! i only know the obvious ones - polands, silkies etc, but there's lots of folks and i'm sure we'd all just love to have a looksie at them anyways. there's nothing like a good chick perve to gladden the heart :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
